Fair keys run in Syracuses 16-point win at Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Syracuse was dangerously close to letting another less talented opponent pull off the upset when C.J. Fair took over Sunday. The seventh-ranked Orange had let a sporadic Florida State team rally late in the first half and get within a point in the second.

Then Fair got going.

The senior forward scored 15 of his 22 points after halftime and led Syracuse to a 74-58 victory in the programs first trip to Florida State.

We saw right away he got it going, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. He had the hot hand. When he gets it, were going to get him the ball.

This was his best offensive game probably since Duke.

Syracuse will be the No. 2 seed when the ACC tournament begins Friday in Greensboro, N.C.

The Orange, who ended a two-game losing streak, had lost 4 of 5  including two to sub-.500 teams  after starting the season 25-0. They had been ranked No. 1 for three weeks and No. 2 for the previous eight weeks before the losses started piling up.

It was huge for us to get this, Boeheim said. Last year we went through this and we had lost (three) and went to Georgetown to try to get momentum back and got beat by 35.

Weve struggled to score. We scored the ball. Did a good job on the boards and our defense was good. ... Momentum can be a funny thing. We turned it around last year in one game. You can do that and this will help us.

Jerami Grant, who had been bothered by back problems recently, had 16 points and eight rebounds while Tyler Ennis finished with 16 points for Syracuse (27-4, 14-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). Syracuses athleticism was too much for Florida State to handle as the Orange had a 43-24 advantage on the glass, including 17 offensive rebounds.

Im definitely feeling a lot better, Grant said. I was able to come out and help my team however they needed me to help today. I think that definitely helped us get the victory today.

Boeheim said, Were a completely different team with Jerami Grant. If he wasnt able to go tonight, we wouldnt be very happy right now. Hes key to what we do.

Okaro White led Florida State with 20 points and 10 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season. Fellow senior Ian Miller scored 16 points in his last home game while Aaron Thomas chipped in 14.

Their zone was pretty good today, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said. It was a challenge for our guys to execute the things we had in their game plan because they kept making adjustments, and thats what their defense does to you.

Syracuse ran away from the Seminoles in the second half behind Fair and two big baskets from Trevor Cooney.

A 6-0 Florida State run cut the lead to 47-46, but the Orange answered with a burst that put the game away. Miller forced a bad 3-point attempt and Cooney responded with his first 3-pointer of the game on the following possession. Cooney buried another after a defensive stop and Syracuse went on to an 18-6 run that extended the lead to 65-52. The Florida State offense didnt have enough juice against the Syracuse zone to make another run.

The Orange outshot the Seminoles 48.3 percent to 38.0 percent.

Every team goes through those rough stretches, Grant said. We went through a little rough stretch, but were back and were flying just in time for the tournament.

White kept the Seminoles in the game during the first half, scoring 14 of Florida States 27 points. He scored 10 consecutive points for Florida State to take an 18-17 lead after a putback.

The Orange answered with a 14-2 run that nearly put the Seminoles away before the break. The run was capped by consecutive fast-break layups from Ennis, one part of a three-point play, to go up 31-20. Syracuse was shooting 47 percent from the field at the time, 11 percent better than Florida State, and had a 20-10 rebounding advantage.

The Seminoles worked the deficit back to single digits with a 7-2 stretch to close the half, highlighted by a tip-dunk off an offensive rebound by White with 1 second left.

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